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Oct 10 / Ozymandias

GameStop Launches Digital Distribution Service

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Just saw on Gamedaily that GameStop has launched a PC digital distribution service (in addition to taking PS3 preorders for a short time this morning). The PS3 preorders are a drop in the pan due to limited numbers, but GameStop embracing ESD (Electronic Software Distribution) is pretty significant in my opinion. To quote the article:

Lazard Capital analyst Colin Sebastian predicted earlier this year that video game retailers may be prompted to get directly involved in the digital distribution market to complement their traditional business and ease their transition to a digital distribution future, if that is indeed what the future holds for the gaming industry. Sebastian specifically cited GameStop as a retailer that he thought would “introduce its own branded download service at some point.”

Apparently that point came a lot sooner than we (and probably most) expected. Today on the GameStop website, consumers can find a brand new “Download Now” section. An official announcement on the new service has yet to be made, but the retailer is already offering “over 1,000 titles” for direct download to the PC.

“We offer a huge selection of games available for download directly to your PC. Simply select the downloadable games you wish to purchase and use our secure digital download checkout,” reads an official description on the site. “You will be prompted to save these games directly to your PC using our robust download managing software. No rentals, no subscriptions – you own the game! In some cases, trial versions are also available, so you can even review the game before making a purchase.”

The service initially would appear to feature a large number of casual games and budget titles, but there are also some more popular games such as Eidos’ Tomb Raider Legend and Hitman Blood Money and 2K Games’ Civilization IV.

It’s encouraging to see retailers embracing ESD instead of trying to slow or hobble it. Recently there’s been plenty of news about large retailers like Target and Walmart trying to protect their DVD sales turf by trying to force studios to sell electronic versions of their movies at the same price as they sell physical goods. This thinking will die a horrible death over time, of course – it’s inevitable. But it makes it all the more encouraging to see forward-thinking traditional retailers like GameStop stepping up and embracing these new models.

It’s pretty obvious that ten years from now ESD will be the primary channel you’ll get your music, movies, games, and other digital media. In many ways the battle over HD-DVD and BluRay is irrelevant as we already know who wins a decade from now. My fear is that progress will be slower in those industries where artificial barriers are being put in place to protect traditional retail; my hope is that the gaming industry won’t be one of those.

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  5. Enhanced Support Service for Xbox 360

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  • http://rijit.spaces.live.com/ rijit

    With the big names in the industry talking home-brew and making kits available for indies and hobbyists, I believe gaming is far ahead of other media in this regard. Gaming companies also seem to get the difference between copyright infringement and fair-use (fan-related projects – fan-sites, game movies, game mods, etc), unlike the movie or music industries. Though not perfect, it is headed in the right direction.

  • http://aedrin.wordpress.com/ Aedrin

    I think they could make a good amount of money if they manage to republish older titles. A quick look on their website shows that some of the games I wouldn’t mind paying for aren’t available.

    This is kind of the situation like buying music online. People wouldn’t mind buying older games if they were available online for a small price. Can’t deny that a little bit of extra profit would hurt. ;)

  • http://aedrin.wordpress.com/ Aedrin

    EDIT: Can’t say that*

  • Sean

    I’m not sure I agree about digital distribution.  Music, maybe.  Games, possibly.  Movies…much less likely.  It’s true that hard drives are getting larger and larger, but so is the content we store on them.  When collecting physical media we have unlimited capacity, but the opposite is true of digital media.  Available storage space will always be a consideration.  Even huge Blue-Ray disks contain digital content that is compressed from its original source.  The larger the media, the less we have to compress, and the better the quality.  As soon as we start talking about digital distribution we start backtracking- if not for storage concerns then at least for bandwidth considerations.  

  • Anonymous

    Well, I have just checked their downloadable catalogue slightly and… well… far from being the lowest prices ever, not to count the lack of a box and a printed manual (and yes, I know most modern games have small panflets and not manuals, but still…). I guess ESD is still not for me

  • Enzo304

    I’m definately not ready for ESD yet… my sad little DSL line (256k, ouch!) couldn’t handle downloading all the games that I plan on buying.  Just thinking about a 4-8gb download frightens me.

    Maybe in a few years when prices drop on bandwidth, I will be ready…

  • Anonymous

    Fair points on bandwidth. I should have said that I think bandwidth will continue to climb significantly over the next decade… we’re within spitting distance of being able to download full games now. I think we can squint and see it not being too painful in the not too distant future… especially if you live in Korea. ;)

  • MarkS

    My main concern with ESD is what happens if it goes wrong and your storage device corrupts. Arcade games and premium content is a good example. When you first downloaded it it’s not just specific to the user but the 360, this means that anyone in the family (we all have accounts) can use that software on that box. However recently we had to get our primary 360 replaced meaning that anything we’d download couldn’t be accessed by anyone else, effectively we’ve had to buy some things twice.

    I also like the fact that I can trade games in adding extra value. I appreciate that developers don’t get anything second/third time around and this wrong so I would like to see more effort being made to address this issue rather than ESD because then everyone would win.

  • J.Goodwin

    It’s probably semantics, but my understanding was that Target in particular just wanted to get the same wholesale price for DVDs that the studios would be providing to electronic distributors of DVDs (download a whole DVD ISO to burn at home).

    Which seems fair to me…

  • http://aedrin.wordpress.com/ Aedrin

    "I also like the fact that I can trade games in adding extra value."

    Didn’t GameStop stop taking PC trade-ins? (Besides the fact that they give rip-off amounts for games/consoles)

    The bandwidth issue is true. I wouldn’t want to download 4+ GB on the current internet. I’d much prefer to pick it up in a store.

  • http://www.slashcry.com dozens

    I have no doubt that digital distribution will grow over the years but it won’t be a factor until high-speed internet becomes more of a standard.  

    Aside from rather high costs that keep it more a luxury (even the low end speeds are rather pricy), availability is still an issue.  You can live in average sized cities and mid size towns and still have many areas that are considered "future expansions" of local infrastructures.

    Once those are fixed you better hope connection speeds are stable and compression rates have improved to make it anything other than a gimmick to try out one time before getting frustrated with hour long waits and disconnects.

    5 years from now things will look pretty much the same as today.  10 years, start having a significant impact.  15+ is where it can become more mainstream.  This reminds me of how supposed scientists envisioned a realistic future for the movie Minority Report…with gravity defying super-highways and bubble cars by the year 2020.    

  • http://www.stylenation.se Stylenation

    The thing is that people are allready doing this with their current bandwith. Thousands are downloading 1GB demos from xbox live and millions are downloading movies and TV shows from iTunes Store – and don’t forget all the users on places like Pirat Bay, downloading gigabytes everyday.

    So, are we not allready there? It’s the industry that holding things up because they are so slow and conservative.

    There will always be a small market for the "physical" media like we still got people how buy vinyl records or VHS.

  • Anonymous

    Well, I think that if we learnt something from the P2P success is that full games can be downloaded (not that I encourage people to do that in this method, but I guess you get what I am referring to)

  • http://www.stylenation.se Stylenation

    People can download music from a P2P network but the majority prefer to use services like iTunes because of the quality, availability and the stability.

    I’m sure that these factors are significant when it comes to games and movies even if they demand more storage and a descent bandwith.  

  • dozens

    "So, are we not allready there? It’s the industry that holding things up because they are so slow and conservative."

    We’re not even close to being there.  Industry slow to change is just one obstacle of many.  

    "There will always be a small market for the "physical" media like we still got people how buy vinyl records or VHS."

    Completely different area.  Compare physical CD sales to iTunes sales for a better comparison and you’ll see how long we have to go.  

  • http://www.stylenation.se Stylenation

    "15+ is where it can become more mainstream."??

    How was the experience on the internet 5 years ago? Is filesharing from a P2P network only a urban phenomenon because they have better broadbands? My parents still buy CD’s and they will for another 15 years but my 15 year old sister haven’t bought on in 2 years since she got her iPod. And I think she is a good representative of the new consumer. Buing things online is a very natural behaviour of her generation. I’m sorry to say but your prediction isn’t realistic.